Tempting Fate
by meburleson
Summary: Sequel to "Twist in Fate". This story picks up 3 months after Annie gets home. As Annie is adjusting to life with a disability, Auggie stands by her side, but as always, challenges occur. Can they find balance? What might fate have in store for them? It's best to read "Twist in Fate" before this one, but as the reader, you chose the path best for you. Disclaimer: I own nothing.
1. Change can be a Good Thing

**Author's Note: Please forgive my absence lately. School started back and well, this teacher has been super busy. I will TRY to update a couple more things this weekend if I can. Please consider reviewing this story and all others you read. Reviews really are important to us writers. (At least all the writers I know appreciate feedback).**

Chapter 1

"Change can be a good thing"

Annie rolled her wheelchair up the sidewalk of her new three bedroom house. It had taken considerably longer for the contractors to finish their work than anticipated. Weather had played a big factor, as well as the rusty pipes and ancient furnace that unexpectedly needed replacing. Annie also found that she wanted to go ahead and do the optional things that the rehab center had suggested to her on their walk through with her in December.

Annie smiled to herself as she remembered her conversation with Auggie an hour before.

"Why can't I go with you?" he almost whined as he poured them both coffee as she rolled down the ramp from the bedroom.

She sighed. "Auggie, we've been through this. I don't want you to see it until at least all the furniture is in." She answered taking the coffee he held out for her.

"Toast is on the counter." He reminded her, knowing that at times she forgot to look up onto the counters that were too tall for a wheelchair user. Not giving up on this conversation, he continued to try to convince her that he should come today. "But Annie, I want to be there for you. You're going to need support today, it's a big step. I promise I won't get in anyone's way."

Annie took a bite of the toast she had taken from the plate on the counter. She was trying her best to not make Auggie think she was pushing him away. That wasn't it at all. She knew today would be hard, but she wanted to try to handle it on her own.

"Auggie, it's not that I don't want or need your support or that I think you will be in the way. I just want to know I can do this by myself-that I'm not incapable of being there alone. I need to get a feel for the place before everything starts being moved in. I promise you'll be visiting enough later that it won't matter that you weren't there today. Please just let me do this my way." She pleaded before taking a sip of her coffee.

"Why does Danielle get to be there if you want to do this alone?" Auggie asked suddenly curious.

"Well, because she won't take no for an answer and respect my wish to do this alone. Trust me; I've tried telling her over and over to let me handle it all. You know how she can be. I've decided that since she won't listen to me say no, I'll put her to work." Annie said after finishing the last of her toast and coffee. Before he could say that she could put him to work as well she placed her hand on his forearm and added, "But you, my dear boyfriend, will respect my wishes, right?"

Auggie sighed at this "Of course, but I expect to help tomorrow." He felt a little guilty for continuing to push the subject, but he wanted to be there. He wanted to know for himself that she was doing well. He understood first hand that changes like this could be hard on a newly disabled person. She was adapting remarkably well and he hoped he was part of the reason behind that. But he also knew that one small comment, look, or unexpected challenge could set a person spiraling into a deep depression for days, weeks, even months.

Smiling she said, "Yes sir." At this she lifted herself out of her wheelchair slightly so that she could reach his lips as he sat on a stool at the breakfast counter. "I know one thing for sure, I'll be glad when we start spending at least part of our time at my place, I'll be able to kiss you much easier when I can reach you better." She added as she positioned herself in her wheelchair.

"Really?" Auggie questioned.

"Yep. Everything in my new house is lower to the ground than what you have. Not by much, but it means I can use it better. Makes kissing boyfriends sitting atop stools easier if they aren't as high from the ground." Annie explained.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't think about that. I didn't mean to make things harder on you." Auggie said frowning. He'd really tried to think of everything she'd need and wanted to accommodate for as much as he could for her. He'd clearly not thought to everything.

"Auggie, it's okay, you did more for me than I expected anyone to. You don't have to completely change your apartment because of me. The ramp and bathroom modifications were plenty. Just as you don't expect everywhere to be accessible to you, I don't expect everywhere I go to be accessible to me. We learn to adapt, right Babe?"

Auggie chuckled at this. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But still, you shouldn't have to work to kiss me." Auggie reached down and gently brought her up to a standing position as he supported her back, holding her close to him. Tilting his head to her he kissed her passionately on the lips for several minutes before cautiously setting her back down. No matter how many times he did that, he always worried that he might misjudge the distance or something and accidently drop her. She never seemed to have the same worry or fear as she always giggled after he lifted her.

She reached up and put her hand on his arm, "As much as I would love to stay here and kiss you all day, I do have a house to make sure gets furnished. I'll be back later tonight. As agreed, I'll stay here one more night then we will get up early in the morning to go work on more unpacking at the house."

As he leaned down searching for her again, he kissed the top of her head, "Okay, call me though. I'll miss you being here."

It was the truth, since Annie left rehab three months ago, there were very few times that she wasn't home with him on weekends and when he got off work. As much as he had hated the idea of her not working at the CIA at first, working at the University had its perks. For one, she was always home before him. Secondly, he never worried that she might be in danger. Not that she would have ever left the office working at the position offered to her at the CIA, but there was always the nagging feeling that something could go wrong in their line of work.

* * *

Annie got out of the car and rolled up the sidewalk to her new home. She paused for a minute just to take it all in before rolling up the gradually inclining sidewalk to the front door. Taking a deep breath she unlocked the door and went inside.

It was 6am on a Saturday in mid-March and she was finally moving in. Luckily it was spring break at The University, so she had all weekend and the next week to get everything settled.

She had used the insurance money she got for being injured on the job as well as some of the inheritance money that her grandparents left when they passed. The money from her grandparents had been being saved and used for travelling expenses after college. She had just always assumed she would love traveling, so she always had at least twenty-five thousand dollars saved. Now, since she wasn't so sure she would be doing a lot of travelling, she used nearly half of the money she had in the account to remodel her home.

She outfitted the entire house with hardwood floors so that she could clean the floors better and be able to get around easier with the wheelchair. All counters in the kitchen were lowered about six inches so that they would be easier for her to use. She had custom made cabinetry put in that included drop down shelves that would enable her to reach everything in her kitchen. The kitchen sink allowed for her to roll under the sink so that she could easily do dishes, clean fruits and veggies, or wash her hands. The appliances were also all updated to reflect her needs.

The bathrooms were gutted and completed redone to include showers with seats, tubs with transfer setting, rails, a pedestal style sink with forward pulling fixtures, and other minor details. All doorways were widens about two inches to allow for more space for her wheelchair to pass through. She had combined the walk-in closet and office next door to make one huge closet to hold all of her clothes and keep them close to the ground so she could reach them. In order to not waste space, she planned to store seasonal clothing on the racks above the clothes she needed for the current season.

One of the extra bedrooms was turned into her office complete with a new desk that would adjust so that she could sit or use a standing wheelchair. Her new computer would be set up by Auggie when he visited and would allow her to work from home if she needed to. She had started her new job in January and was lucky that the weather had only prevented her from working a few times so far. The third bedroom would be used as a guest bedroom and would soon have Chloe and Katia's old bunk beds in it.

Annie had tried to think of every tiny detail that could help her live completely independent in her home. The only part of the home that was not almost completely accessible to her was the basement. She could access it if she went outside and around the house and then in the back door that lead into the basement, but she couldn't go down the stairs from inside the house. There was nothing down there now that she would need except for an old chest freezer that she'd planned to use in the winter if she needed to stock up on food when they expected bad weather. She'd handle getting to the food later.

As Annie rolled around the empty home, checking that everything was done as it was supposed to be, she began to feel anxious. This was her home and hers alone. She would be responsible for keeping it clean, entertaining here, and filling it with memories. The movers would be there in about thirty minutes and her sister would be there shortly after that. She kept reminding herself that change was good-at least some change was good, she amended bitterly. Living life in a wheelchair was NOT a change she was welcoming with open arms. It was what it was. And so far she was having more good days than bad. But right now, this change-buying her own house, having it customized to meet her needs, purchasing furnishings-this was going to be good. At least she hoped it would be.

The whole moving process had been more organized and precise than Annie ever thought she could orchestrate, but she chalked it up to not having a job for a month or so that gave her time to plan things for the move.

As it was, the layout of the home was in the hands of the movers. It had been color coded by room and each box had a color on it to tell them where it went. All furniture was also labelled as to where it went. She and Danielle knew exactly where every piece of furniture was planned to go so they would each be directing the movers as necessary. Annie had tried to plan everything the best she could. She felt bad that she couldn't help more with moving things. She knew it was a ridiculous thing to think, but she was still struggling to get used to not doing absolutely _everything_ on her own. Auggie had told her it was a control thing. Once a person is disabled, the way they each had been, they lose so much control that anything they could control, they sometimes went a bit overboard with. So she had gone overboard on being prepared for this process. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

After making a second trip around the house checking each room and getting a feel for going from place to place, she looked at the time. The movers would be there in ten minutes. She took a deep breath as she parked her wheelchair at the window in the living room. She wanted to wait for the movers inside rather than allow all her neighbors to see her. She was afraid of what assumptions they might make of her if they saw her. She knew they would make snap judgements of her just because they saw the wheelchair. She wasn't ready to face those people yet. For now, she only wanted to be Annie Walker, home buyer-not the wheelchair bound home buyer.

 **So, what do you think? Was this too boring? Too short? Too long? Too much of anything? Not enough of something else? I don't have set plans for this story yet, so ideas are extremely welcome and even encouraged so that I can get the story updated quicker. I SHOULD have another chapter up for this story AND "Family Ties" soon-ish.**


	2. Dining Drama

**Author's Note: For of all, THANK YOU to Finlaure13 for being my sole reviewer so far and THANK YOU to Finlaure and poohbearolivia for following this story. This will be the last update I'm able to make for a while. I have another chapter (for "Family Ties") in the works, so hopefully that one will be able to be completed this week. After that, I just don't know. Please consider reviewing this chapter and others you read. They give me (and other writers as well) the fuel to keep writing. Without it, well, you get months of no writing, which I know no one wants.**

Chapter 2

"Dining Drama"

Annie and Danielle made sure all the furniture, boxes, and everything was in the correct rooms in Annie's new house. Danielle started unpacking the boxes in the kitchen while Annie went around the house making sure all the rooms accommodated her wheelchair with the furniture in place. She had only encountered one problem with an end table that she easily moved herself. Then she practiced transferring to and from furniture to make sure everything was satisfactory for her use.

After finalizing their lists of what still needed to be completed, Danielle and Annie prepared to leave.

"Are you sure you don't want to come over for dinner?" Danielle continued an earlier conversation once they were outside.

"No, I told you, Auggie and I have plans." Annie said as she locked the door to her house.

"Annie, of course, but you know he can come over too, right? You guys are welcome over anytime. I feel like I never see you anymore." Danielle almost whined.

"Danielle, I know, I want to come over." Annie lied. "I'll ask Auggie if he wants to." She added. She had not been to her sister's house, other than to get things from the guest house, since the shooting and it was not something she wanted to do. But she knew she needed to get over the negative feelings she held for her sister's house.

On the way to Auggie's apartment, Annie called him to see what he thought about going over to Danielle's for dinner.

"Hey Auggie." She spoke into her Bluetooth.

"Hey Walker, are you headed here?" He asked trying to hide his surprise at how early she was calling. It was significantly earlier than he expected, but he was glad to have more time with her.

"Yeah. But Danielle wants to know if we want to come to dinner at her house tonight. I need to call her back with an answer as soon as I can."

"It's fine with me, if it's fine with you." He answered.

Swallowing hard she said, "Yeah, it'll be fun. I'll give her a call so she's expecting us."

"Okay, see you soon." Auggie said before hanging up.

Unlocking the door at Auggie's apartment, she realized that this was her final night staying with Auggie, well, at least as a permeant resident. She knew she would be visiting and maybe even staying over, but it was just somehow different. Auggie had been right. Today had been hard on her and it all seemed to hit her as with the simple task of unlocking a door. She tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to overtake her, but she couldn't. And now that the door was unlocked, Auggie would know she was there. She had no choice, but to go in. Before she could open the door, Auggie opened it. "Annie?" He asked as he opened the door.

"''Ere." She managed to get out between the silent sobs. Auggie immediately took a couple steps out in to the hallway with his hand outstretched until it met with her wheelchair. He knew not to push her with questions right now. He gently pushed her chair forward into his apartment, closed the door and then reached out for her. He gently cradled her face in his hands as he knelt in front of her. After a few moments of this he carefully lifted her from her wheelchair and held her close to his chest as he walked into the living room. He sat on the couch and just held her as she sobbed. He felt her big wet tears soaking through his shirt as he slowly rocked. He knew this would happen today. And he was happy to be the one she silently sobbed on.

After about ten minutes the sobs slowed and her breathing became more controlled.

She lifted her head off his shoulder and simply said "Thank you."

"No thank you necessary, Walker." He replied as he kissed the top of her head. "Do you want your wheelchair?" He asked realizing he should not have removed her from it without her asking.

"No, I'm fine right here for now." She said softly.

"Sorry for-Well, I wasn't thinking when I took you out of your wheelchair earlier. I realize now that might not have been what you wanted." He told her. Remembering how he hated when people did things for him when he was first blinded. He often caught himself doing the same thing to Annie.

"It's okay Auggie. I mean, it's not okay to just whisk me away from my only means of getting around, but special circumstances call for special actions sometimes. I needed to be held right then. And I was in no shape to tell you that or move myself." Annie said.

"What happened?" Auggie asked, then added, "If you're ready to talk about it." He prepared himself for more tears. He wasn't sure if someone had said something to her or if she had seen something that set it the tears in motion.

"I honestly don't know. I was unlocking the door and just started sobbing uncontrollably. I guess it was just all the day's emotions finally caught up with me. I had made myself too busy to feel all day and now, they demanded I acknowledge them."

"Ah, yeah, I thought it might be something like that, but I wasn't sure. I'm glad it happened here and not while you were driving or something. Are you okay now?" He said as he ran his hand through her hair.

"Yeah, I think so. Thank you for being here for me."

"Always Walker. Always." He said as he felt her lean her head into his neck.

They sat for a few more minutes in silence as he continued to absentmindedly run his fingers through her hair.

"We should probably get ready for go to Danielle's." Annie said lifting her head and looking at Auggie.

"Are you sure you want to go? I'm sure your sister will understand if you have to call to cancel."

"I'll be fine. I just needed a good cry. I'm fine now. Can you grab my wheelchair? It's about six feet from the door."

Annie slid herself from his lap to the couch watching Auggie as he walked confidently to where he had left her chair. It still sometimes amazed her at how easily he seemed to move around his home, especially now that she saw it every day. He very rarely, if ever, had miscalculation in his home, even after she had moved in and brought big changes for his environment, the biggest being a ramp where there used to be stairs and multiple changes in his bathroom. But he never once complained about it or seemed to be bothered by it. She felt guilty now for leaving after he had made the costly changes. But he had told her when she first found out about it all, before they were dating, that it was something he wanted to do for her, so that she could have full use of his home when she visited.

Once back in her wheelchair she went to the refrigerator and got out a bottle of water. "Want anything Augs?" She asked as she opened the door.

"No, I'm good. I'm going to go shower and get ready. What time are we supposed to be there?"

"7:00." She said as she closed the refrigerator door. "And we're supposed to bring a bottle of wine. I figure we can make a quick stop at a store on our way over and grab something." She said and then was reminded that a "quick" stop didn't exist for her anymore. She sighed and swallowed her anxiety before it sent her into an emotional mess again.

While Auggie showered Annie got out her clothes to put on after she showered herself. She planned to leave at least a week's worth of clothes at Auggie's place in order to insure she was prepared if she randomly decided to stay over. Since she had been moving around all day and knew she was sweating and nasty.

Once they were both ready, they headed out the door with plenty of time to stop at the store for wine.

"What kind of wine should we get?" Auggie asked once they were both settled in the car and on their way. He knew she was nervous about stopping by the store and being seen in public. They never talked about it, but he knew she avoided going out in public. He had been surprised when she so willing took the job at Georgetown University since the month prior to that she had barely been out in public at all except to go to the gym and her doctors' appointments. But he understood. He knew what it was like. It was a process and pushing her would only stunt any progress she had made.

"I don't know. Something will stand out once we get there." She said nervously. She had avoided shopping trips and everything since the incident. She'd done almost all of the purchasing for the house online and anything she couldn't buy online she just sent her sister to find for her. She knew it was irrational, but she did not want to be judged by strangers. At the university, she was a highly respected linguist and it didn't matter that she was in a wheelchair. Her skills were still highly valuable and sought after. Her new job was perfect for utilizing her new skill of always keeping control whenever possible. She had decided not to go back to the CIA and instead accepted a position as a professor at Georgetown University just ten miles down the road from where Annie's house was. It had been a difficult decision, one that Annie didn't think Auggie agreed with, but he had eventually accepted that they would no longer be working together.

Once they arrived at the grocery store, Auggie got out of the car, trailed his hand along the side of the car and waited at the back of it for Annie. This had become their routine anytime they were going somewhere. Annie would get her wheelchair out, transfer to it, and close and lock the door and meet him. He knew she felt like a burden that he had to wait for her, but he didn't dare ask her if she needed help. She knew he was there if she needed help. And he knew she needed to gain independence and the only way to do that was by doing things for herself. The first couple times they went out once she was home had been frustrating for her and she had been upset when she realized she had pushed the chair's wheel back too far in the backseat for her to reach it from the front seat. She had, of course, figured out how to get it, but it had been a struggle for Auggie to stand and listen to her struggling. He wanted to rush over and help her, but he had resisted.

Once they were in the store, Auggie could literally feel the tension rolling off Annie. He walked beside her with his hand on her shoulder. She would warn him if he ever needed to step behind her because of high traffic areas, displays, or shelves. Once in the wine section of the store, they quickly chose a Merlot for the evening's wine. Auggie couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard a few empathetic whispers a few times, he only hoped Annie didn't hear them as well.

Once they were back in the car, he got his answer though.

"Did you hear all the whispers about us in there?" She asked letting out a deep sigh.

"I thought I might have." Auggie admitted cautiously. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew lying to her wouldn't do her any good. "It's something you have to get used to." He added.

"I know Auggie. I didn't like it when people would talk about you before all this and I sure as hell don't like being on the receiving end of the pity remarks myself."

"I know sweetie. It isn't easy to listen to or watch, but its reality. There will always be those people who only see you as a girl in a wheelchair, but there will also be awesome people who see the real you-the Annie Walker who just happens to use a wheelchair. Just as there will always be people who only see me as a blind guy, instead of Auggie Anderson who just happens to not be able to see. There's more to you than your disability, just as there is more to those people than their hair color, height, or occupation. I am more than my disability. And so are you. You just have to let them see that. Now, let's go, your sister is expecting us." Auggie ended with a smile.

Annie put the car in drive and arrived at her sister's house ten minutes later.

Once Auggie got out of the car, Annie took a deep breath. She looked at the house before her and swallowed the anxiety she was feeling about entering it again. It would be a good night. She was fine. She had Auggie with her.

WWWRenewCovertAffairsCOM-WWWRenewCovertAffairsCOM-WWWRenewCovertAffairsCOM-WWWRenewCovertAffairsCOM-WWWRenewCovertAffairsCOM

Annie was relieved when once she was in the house her anxiety about being there seemed to disappear as she was surrounded by Auggie, Danielle, Katia, Chloe and Michael. She was also glad they had arrived a few minutes before 7 so she could feel useful in the kitchen helping Danielle prepare the meal. Her nieces were a bit disappointed when Annie reminded them that she couldn't go up the stairs to see their newly painted rooms or new toys. They quickly forgot all about it when Danielle shooed them into the living room to watch their favorite TV program at 7:00.

"Is there anything I can do?" Annie asked Danielle as she pulled something from the oven.

"Sure, grab a knife and finish chopping vegetables for the salad." Danielle replied.

Annie rolled herself over to the knife block, reached up for a knife, and then was stopped by an intense pain. In a flash, she was back in the kitchen-standing in the very spot she had just been in, but now she was staring at Simon as he fell to the ground in a pool of blood. In the next flash she was staring into the eyes of the shooter-Lena Smith. For a briefest of moments their eyes locked, but then pain shot through her as the first bullet hit her chest. She barely had time to think, in the next instant, she twisted toward the knife block and felt a searing pain in her back just for a moment before she collapsed to the floor.

When the flashback was over, she realized before she even opened her eyes that she was no longer in her wheelchair or in the kitchen. A dull pain still pulsated through her lower back and legs. She knew it wasn't real. A least that the pain wasn't a sign of anything good. The pain was very much real in that she felt it. She knew it was fathom pains caused by the memories. "What happened?" She muttered groggily with her eyes still closed.

"Well, I think you passed out. I'm not really sure. Danielle said you knocked over the knife block, fell out of your chair, and hit your head on the kitchen cabinet. Freaked your sister out, I think." Auggie said from above her.

Annie slowly opened her eyes, relieved to not be in the nightmare anymore. She was laying on the couch. Auggie was sitting with her legs across his lap. "I-I think I had a flashback." She said softly.

"Oh? Of the shooting?" Auggie asked. He had frequent nightmares when he was first blinded and Annie had had nightmares as well. But he had rarely had anything happen when he was awake to trigger a flashback-probably because one did not usually encounter explosions in their everyday life. "What caused it?" He had not heard anything like a gunshot that he could imagine causing her to have a flashback.

"The knife block." She said solemnly.

When a confused look came over his face she explained further. "Remember, I told you I had been reaching for a knife when the second bullet hit me, ultimately, paralyzing me."

"Ah, now I remember. It's understandable that you would have the reaction you did then. Are you feeling better now?"

Annie sat up slowly, allowing Auggie to support her as she did. She moved her legs so they dangled off the couch and sat up properly. "Yeah, I think I'm okay now. I guess being here is affecting me a little more than I thought it would. I thought I could handle it. But the stupid knife block did me in. But I do think I'm okay now. How long was I out?"

"Maybe twenty minutes." He said feeling his watch. "Danielle yelled for me and she and Michael helped me get you to the couch. She wanted to call an ambulance, but I told her I didn't think that was necessary."

"Thank you for not calling an ambulance." Annie rubbed the small lump growing on the back of her head. "I'll have a nice bump on my head in the morning, but I think I'm fine otherwise. Oh I bet Chloe and Katia are scared. Where are they?" She asked looking around.

"I think Danielle sent them to their room." Auggie said.

"Yes, she did." Danielle said startling both Annie and Auggie as she came into the living room. "You scared me to death Annie Walker! Please promise me you won't do that again."

"I wish I could sis. But I can't control when I have a flashback and pass out." Annie said annoyed at her sister's insensitivity.

"Oh. You had a flashback?" Danielle asked curiously.

"Yes, Danielle. Your kitchen was where I was paralyzed a mere six months ago. And that stupid knife block was what I was reaching for when a bullet went into my spine. Excuse me for having a reaction to it. You have no idea how incredibly hard it is for me to even be in this house."

"Gosh Annie, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. Of course, you would be upset being here. Anybody would if they'd gone through what you did. Why didn't you mention it earlier when I invited you?" Danielle stated.

"Because I can't let it rule over me. I can't let this place dictate whether I see my sister or nieces. I can't let it decide my fate." Annie held Auggie's hand as she spoke. She knew he understood what she meant. Danielle might not get it completely, but Auggie would.

"Well, dinner is ready if you still want to eat. I understand if you want to leave though." Danielle replied.

"No, like I said, I'm not letting my memories and fears decide where I go and what I do. I'm okay now." She said firmly.

WWWRenewCovertAffairsCOM-WWWRenewCovertAffairsCOM-WWWRenewCovertAffairsCOM-WWWRenewCovertAffairsCOM-WWWRenewCovertAffairsCOM

"It's weird" Auggie started as they sat on the couch back at Auggie's place after dinner at Danielle's. The actual dinner had went over without any problems. Annie avoided going in the kitchen though. She was terrified of having another flashback. The emotion, pain, and tension between the sisters that it had caused was not something Annie wanted repeated again tonight.

"Hmmm? What's weird?" Annie said half asleep. They'd been watching a movie and Annie had started going to sleep as she leaned against Auggie's chest.

"Well" He hesitated unsure if he should bring it up or not, but now he had already started, he knew she would be annoyed if now he said "oh, never mind." So he continued with his thought, "I just thought, I've been absentmindedly drawing little shapes and designs on your leg as I listen to the movie and well, I just realized, you couldn't feel that I was doing it, could you?"

Annie sighed. Of course, he knew she couldn't. She hadn't paid attention to his hand on her leg. "No, I couldn't." Annie said sadly.

"Isn't that strange? I mean, not being able to feel half your body." Auggie asked curiously. He suddenly felt unsure of where the conversation was going. He didn't want to depress her or accidently cause more tears. "Ummm, Annie, look, I'm sorry. We don't have to talk about this if you're not ready." He said as he found her hand and took it in his own.

"Yeah babe, it's very strange. I've got used to it for the most part now though. I had to, just like you had to get used to living without sight, I've had to get used to half my body being basically dead weight. Sure I'm sad about it sometimes, but I'm learning to live with it. I'll continue to have bad days, just like I'll continue to have good days. Hopefully I'll keep having more good days than bad ones."

"Hmm, I guess I just always thought you were invincible. All those close calls, all the dangerous situations, no matter what, you just always bounced back. There was nothing you couldn't do. It had always made me feel like when I was with you, there was nothing _I_ couldn't do as well. Well, except for the obvious." He said pointing to him eyes and chuckling slightly. "But now, well, I don't know. It's just different. Now…" He let his thoughts drift off, knowing he was making her comfortable.

"Now there is a very big _something_ I can't do." Annie said finishing his thought. "I know it is different for you. It's different for me as well. But I can't be sad about it all the time. It is what it is and it won't change. If I think about it too hard, I'll spiral into depression. I know you're here for me. Together there really isn't anything we can't do. We've got each other's backs, no matter what. I'll be your eyes, while you be my legs and do the heavy lifting."

"Hey, don't leave me to do all the lifting. Your upper body is getting as strong as mine." He said as he kissed the top of her forehead.

Annie laughed, "True, five days a week at the gym is definitely helping my strength and endurance to roll around in that chair all day."

"I imagine it will make you a treat in bed as well." Auggie said confidently.

"We'll see Auggie. I'm not ready for that just yet." She said softly.

"I know sweetheart, I'm not pressuring you."

"It will be different though, I'm sure. How was, -uh, how long did it take you before you were having sex again after Tikrit?" Annie asked curiously.

Auggie thought for a moment, "I guess it was about 9 months or so. I didn't have much confidence right after it happened. I was sure no one would want to be with me then. I went through a self-destructive phase about that time. I was getting drunk all the time and eventually that lead to me just sleeping with anyone and everyone that showed even the smallest interest in me. I guess Liza was the first I "settled on" more than a couple times. But she was just for an op. I just wanted to find out who the leak was and when she approached me at a bar and I found out who she was, I couldn't imagine _not_ pursuing it. I guess looking back she was necessary in more than one way. But that's my story; you don't have to go by any certain timeline. I'm here when you're ready, eagerly waiting."

"I know Auggie. You'll be the first to know when I'm ready." She said turning and kissing his lips.

"I love you." He said between kisses.

"What?" Annie said pulling back from their make out session.

Auggie bashfully turned away, they hadn't said that to one another yet. But, man, did he ever mean it.

 **Author's Note: Please review to let me know what you think of what I have wrote so far and what you'd like to see coming next for this story or others. Thanks as always!**


	3. Just one Thing after Another

**Author's Note: Chapter 4 should be up for this story soon. Working on others now. Which of my stories would you most like an update to? Let me know and I'll do my best to accommodate your wishes!**

Chapter 3

"Just one Thing after Another"

The first week in her new home seemed almost like a never ending to-do list. There was constantly something that had to be put away, organized, or labeled. She labeled things she knew Auggie would need in Braille for him, but then also had to label any boxes or containers that she stored so she would know what was in them without having to reach for them. On top of that, the list of things Annie still needed to buy was much longer than she thought possible. The kitchen alone had a list a mile long. Throughout the week she found herself easily frustrated and constantly unsure of herself.

Auggie was there as much as he could be. But, unlike Annie, he didn't get a spring break, he could only be there on the weekend and some nights if he got off work early. He had asked Joan if he could take a couple days off, but an emergency in the Gulf prevented her from being able to allow it. He understood, he really did, but he was discouraged that he couldn't be there for Annie, especially since he knew this was all harder on her than she had expected it would be.

By the Saturday after they'd started the process, almost everything was unpacked and Danielle had gone shopping for Annie to get some of the essentials off her list. Annie didn't think Danielle completely understood her new found aversion to shopping, but Danielle didn't argue with her sister when Annie told her she wouldn't join her.

As Annie was helping Danielle get the bags out of the car when she returned, one of Annie's neighbors approached in front of her house as they were walking their dog.

"Welcome to the neighborhood." The pixie-haired middle age women said. She wore nice jeans and a light blue button down shirt.

"Thanks." Annie replied as she rolled down the ramp towards Danielle's van. She felt the woman's eyes on her the whole time as she began getting bags out of the van and putting them on her lap.

"Do you need help with those?" The woman asked taking a few steps towards Annie.

"No, thank you. What I don't get my sister will be back out to get in a few minutes." Annie said finishing loading her lap and starting to head back to the house.

"I'm Amy Duncan." The woman called over Annie's shoulder as she tried to escape the awkward encounter.

Annie sighed inwardly and turned her wheelchair back around to face the lady. "Nice to meet you Amy. I'm Annie Walker. I just moved in last weekend." She said, extending her hand to Amy.

Amy switched the dog's leash from her right to her left hand and took Annie's outstretched hand. "My husband and I saw someone moving in. We've wondered for months who had bought this place. We saw the contractors here last month. Did the last owners leave it in bad shape?" Amy asked curiously.

"No, it wasn't in bad shape. I just had to make some changes around the place to make it easier on me." Annie told her reluctantly.

"Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense. What do you and your husband do?" She asked.

"I'm a professor at Georgetown, but I'm not married. Auggie, the man you might have seen come and going is my boyfriend, but we don' live together. He's a tech analyst for the Smithsonian." She told her, lying smoothly about Auggie's job.

"Oh? So you live here alone? Or does your sister live with you?" Amy asked.

"I live alone." Annie said.

"Oh, the place isn't too big for you to manage by yourself?" She asked curiously, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Nope." Annie said defiantly. She wasn't going to let this lady get to her.

"Well, if you ever need anything, Derrick, my husband, and I are right next door. We have twin eight year old girls, Jessica and Nicole. And this girl is Missy." She said rubbing the collie's head as she spoke. The dog had been sitting down next to Amy the whole time, not offering to jump around or become overly excited.

"Your dog seems very nice. Thank you for the offer. Once I'm settled, we should have dinner or something." Annie told Amy, but wasn't sure why she'd offered something like that. She knew she wasn't ready for hosting events for random strangers.

"I'd like that." Amy said. "We'll set something up."

After a moment of silence, Danielle came back outside.

"I better get these things inside. It was nice meeting you, Amy." Annie said turning her chair towards the house and headed off before Amy could start talking again.

Once back inside her house, Annie took a deep breath. _That wasn't completely awful_ , she told herself. She'd felt like she was being judged the entire time, but she knew that was to be expected. She also knew part of that feeling was her own perspective of thinking people will be judging always be negatively judging her now that she's in a wheelchair. She needed to try to think better of people. Why on earth had she said she told her she'd like to have dinner with her? Was she trying to impress her or prove something to her? Annie honestly wasn't sure.

* * *

The next week, Annie was back at work. She tried to get herself into a routine with managing work duties, housework, and her relationship with Auggie.

On Wednesday of that week, she had a bad day everywhere she turned.

She left home at her usual time, and was prepared for her 8am class. However, an accident on the road she usually took to work hard her taking a detour, only to find herself in an unfamiliar part of town, with a flat tire. She had to call someone to help her with the tire. She felt humiliated. She knew how to change a tired. Her father had made sure both his girls would take care of their own basic car needs such as changing the oil and replacing a flat tire. She'd been doing it since she was a teenager. But she didn't know how to manage the task now that she was paralyzed. The more she thought about the process, the more frustrated she got that she couldn't do it now.

After getting to class half an hour late and discovering her students had left class, she overheard a conversation between two of her co-workers as she was leaving. The topic: her. They were discussing how "unfortunate her accident was for her, that she could have done great things" and "that she had this great job traveling the world for the Smithsonian, of all places? Can you believe it's all gone now? It's like she has to start over." She didn't stay to listen to the whole conversation; she was already in a bad mood without them adding to it.

Deciding to take some time to get herself together, she thought that maybe some coffee would help ease her mind. She grabbed the book her students were reading in her Russian Literature course from the bookshelf in her office and headed out of the building. She headed to the main building of the university. It housed the bookstore, registrar's office, convenience store, and most importantly the largest of the university's three coffee shops.

As she entered the coffee shop, she was greeted by various students as she waited in the long line, making small talk with them and asking about their spring break. When it was finally her turn to order, she decided a chocolate croissant was just what she needed with her coffee.

The barista told Annie to go ahead and find a table and she would bring her order out to her. Annie tried not to take this as special treatment because of the wheelchair, but she knew that was what it was. Most of the tables were taken by students hard at work reading, studying, or typing on their computers. When a table opened up, Annie moved the chair from the table and pulled her wheelchair up to the table, hoping to be out of the walk way as much as possible.

Finally, once her beverage and pastry arrived, Annie felt like she could relax a bit before her next class started at 10. Her course schedule allowed for ample time between each course for her to get from one building to the next and to make any last minute lesson preparations.

Annie was immensely grateful for the University's offering her a job and had been enjoying teaching more than she thought she might. She taught five courses this semester. Three on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays that lasted fifty minutes a day and two on Tuesdays and Thursdays that lasted an hour and a half each day. She taught beginning Italian and French language courses, a Russian literature course, and advanced level Hebrew and Russian language courses.

The beginning level courses were lecture style. They had intimidated her at first because there were over 50 students in each class, but they didn't seem to judge her. She'd heard a few rude remarks or jokes from students, but nothing like she heard from adults she encountered. The first day of all of her classes she had opened the floor to questions about herself. Only a few asked her about her disability. They were more interested in her travels, favorite books, and languages she knew.

After a couple weeks, she was used to the students and the students were used to her. She expected high standards from them and for the most part, they rose to the challenge. Her disability did not impact her ability to teach them the language they were there for.

On this particular Wednesday, as she sat reading before her next class, she was once again reminded of how her disability could be seen by others.

Everything had seemed fine, until the store got particularly busy. It was completely packed. At first, Annie didn't notice, she was immersed in her book. It wasn't until she heard someone say "Could she take up anymore of the walkway? Doesn't she care about the rest of us trying to get our drinks too?" She turned her head towards the voice and continued to hear the snide remarks about "the fucking cripple" and worse, the pitying responses about the "wheelchair bound" woman that were commented back to the original speaker. She didn't recognize any of the students in the group, but it still alarmed her that they would make such comments in such a public place.

Annie knew to expect these comments. She knew not to let it get under her skin. But right then, she just wanted out of there. As Annie put her book in the book bag she kept at the back of her wheelchair, she unlocked the wheels of her chair and prepared to leave. As she backed her chair into the aisle carefully, she suddenly stopped as someone came barreling through the crowd towards her. Much to her horror, the man coming at her was none other than the person who'd made the comments before. To make it all worse, as he came rushing through past the others in line, he tripped on a table leg, causing his coffee to land right in her lap.

To her surprise, the man offered no apology, but instead just gave her a look that seemed to say "this is all your fault."

As Annie grabbed the nearest napkins she could, others came to her aid, offering their napkins or asking if she needed help.

"What? No one cares about me?" The man said, "It's not like she can _feel_ it anyway."

It was then that some of the members of his group caught up with him and heard his comment. "Dude, not cool." One said.

Another said, "Just because she can't feel it, which by the way, you don't know whether she can or not, doesn't mean it can't burn her."

Annie was humiliated by this point and just wanted to get somewhere to check the damage and clean herself up. Quickly, she maneuvered through the crowd and made her way to the nearest bathroom. She was grateful that she had an extra outfit in her office for accidents such as this one. Once in the bathroom, she checked her legs for signs of blistering. So far, there was no sign, but she reminded herself that she would need to check again later. She wouldn't be able to feel a blister form, but that didn't mean they couldn't need medical attention if it was serious.

Making her way to her office, she grabbed her extra outfit and changed immediately.

As her next class began, she tried to forget the awful coffee shop events and enjoy teaching her Russian Literature students. It was her favorite course she taught. The class only had ten students who were relatively fluent in Russian. They would read various Russian texts and discuss how said readings related to Russian politics, current events, and history. A few times lively debates occurred and Annie frequently played the devil's advocate to try to get her students thinking in different ways about topics being discussed. Today, there were no debates, but there were interesting conversations and discussions.

Mid way through class, Annie noticed two men dressed in suits at the back of her classroom. At first, she thought nothing of it, thinking they must just be doing an evaluation of her teaching. But then she noticed they weren't taking notes. A knot began to form in the pit of her stomach as she feared the worst.

By the end of class and a discussion with a student about a paper he needed to redo, the men were nowhere to be found.

"Andrew, did you notice those two men at the back of the room while we were discussing our final project." Annie asked the student as he was packing up.

"Yeah, I think that was the Dean. Probably just showing an alumni around or something." He answered causally, shrugging his shoulders a little.

"Thanks. See you Friday." Annie replied with a sigh of relief.

 _No everyone is out to get you Annie._ She thought to herself as she took about deep breath.

After her second class of the day, Annie usually went and ate lunch with a couple of the other woman in the linguistics department. However, today she just wasn't feeling up to their usually perky moods. She decided instead to go down to the café a couple blocks from the university. She'd been there a few times already and they seemed to treat her like any other patron.

Once there, she chose to take her meal to go to avoid a repeat of the unnecessary drama from the morning. Back at her office, she put some classical music on to play while she ate her burger and fries and drank her soda. While normally she would have ate a little healthier, the day's cloud needed a little silver lining.

Her next class wasn't until two, so she had some time to kill. As she finished up her lunch, she wondered if Auggie would have time to call her today. He always called when he got a lunch break unless he knew she would be teaching. As if on cue, he called the moment she thought about him calling.

"Hey Walker." He greeted her with an obvious smile on his face.

"Hey Auggie." She said brightly. Just hearing his voice seemed to calm the anxieties she'd felt just moments ago.

"How's your day been?" he asked between bites of his lunch.

"Not so great. It's just been one thing after another today." She told him honestly.

"Oh? Do tell, leave no details out." He said.

As she began telling him all about her day, recounting each moment, she felt anxiety creeping up on her again. He expressed a lot of concern over the fact that someone had carelessly spilled their hot coffee on her. She promised him she would keep an eye on it and see the doctor at the first sign of serious burns. When she got to the part about the men coming in to visit, Auggie was immediately alarmed.

"Annie, are you sure that was the Dean? In our line of work you can't be too careful." He reminded her.

"Auggie, I'm not in _your_ line of work anymore, remember?" she reminded him. She knew he liked to think she was just on an extended undercover job, but that wasn't the case. "I'm sure it was nothing. You know, there are people in the real world that never want to know about all the stuff we dealt with at the CIA. I'd like to become one of those people. I _am_ one of those people." She said firmly believing that she had nothing to worry about.

"Annie. You really should double check. You made a lot of enemies when you were with the CIA." He said calmly, trying to not alarm her too much, but still wanting her to take this seriously.

"Auggie. Drop it. It's nothing, I'm fine. Insisting that I'm not isn't helping. I don't need to double check anything."

"Well, at least give me a description of them, I'll have Barber hack into the university security so we can at least ID them to be sure." He pushed further.

"Auggie, no. Don't have Barber do any such thing!" She said upset now. "I said drop it. Why can't you ever just respect my wishes? Why does it always have to be your way?" She almost shouted into the phone. She was angry-very angry, and she wasn't exactly sure if it was just him or just a combination of the whole day.

"Fine Annie. I'll drop it. But promise me you'll at least be careful." He asked.

"Auggie, I'm always careful now. There's not much trouble I can get into from where I'm sitting." She said grimly.

Desperate to try to salvage her mood, Auggie changed the subject to tell her about the latest gossip around the CIA. He knew it usually worked to improve her moods to know how everyone was doing. This time, it didn't seem to have the same effect as usual. She'd went quiet on him. Only giving a few mumbles here and there instead of any real comments.

Meanwhile, Annie was still seething mad. She couldn't help but think Auggie didn't think she could handle herself anymore. That she was vulnerable to the least little thing. She didn't even hear half of the rest of the conversation, she just hummed and mumbled randomly, not even sure if it was in any kind of appropriate place for such things. At the moment she didn't care.

Determined to at least not be late to her next class, Annie began to tell him goodbye.

"Annie. Are you sure..." He began to ask her if she was sure she didn't want him to dig around a bit about the visitors she'd had.

She immediately interrupted him. "No Auggie." She said sternly.

"Okay. Are we still on for dinner tonight?" He asked, hopefully.

She scoffed. "No, I don't think so. Not tonight." She couldn't believe he thought dinner could just fix this. It had been a while since they'd had an argument, but right now, she had no desire to see him.

Hanging up the phone without really even telling him goodbye, she prepared to head to her next class.

The remainder of the workday went without any real problems. Therefore, her mood was just a little bit better. She was still upset with Auggie, but she was determined not to let that ruin her whole evening before it even started.

One her way home, she took the scenic route, just wanting to relax with a long drive. She'd been surprised at how well she'd adapted to hand controls. Now, when she drove, it was one of the few times she felt normal. No one on the outside of the car knew she was using hand control instead of the foot petals. While she did have a handicap placard she could put up when she needed it, she usually got to work early enough that it didn't matter where she parked, she could always park where an empty space was next to her that allowed the extra space she needed to get her wheelchair out of the car.

Now driving with the windows down and a slight chill in the air, she felt at peace for the first time all day.

But the peace lasted all of two minutes…

 **Author's Note: So what do you think happened to interrupt her peace?**


	4. Waiting Around for News

**Author's Note: Hi all, when I started this story I had no plan for it. I'm surprised at where it's taking us. I hope you're enjoying it!**

Chapter 4

"Waiting Around for News"

The car behind her suddenly hit her rear. Looking into her rearview mirror, she saw that they were not slowing down. Picking up speed, she tried to lose them taking a couple random turns. As it became apparent that they were following her, her CIA evasion training kicked in. She increased her speed even more, swerving between other cars trying to lose them in any way she could.

Her heart was beating quicker than it should; it had been months since she had felt this way. She knew what to do. She was trained on tactical driving, heck she had once been one of the best women to take The Farm's driving course. They had been impressed with her skills.

These guys were good. No matter what tactic Annie used, they were on her tail the whole time, trying to swerve into her. _Who are you?_ Annie thought to herself. She hadn't remembered anyone following her before. But then again, she hadn't really been paying attention. She simply didn't have that "I'm in constant danger" mindset anymore. She was doing everything she could to lose this person, but nothing was working. These guys were just as good as she was, maybe better.

For the first time in memory, Annie was afraid she might not be able to outsmart someone with her driving skills. She wasn't sure what their intentions might be. She needed to get to a populated area before they caused her to wreck. At least then she might have a change of not being killed or abducted.

As she made her way through the streets of Georgetown, she headed to a busier part of town, this area was deserted at this time of the day. She was grateful it was still daylight. At least that meant people wouldn't have trouble seeing her if something happened. She decided to call the only person she could think of who might know what to do—at least the only person she was talking to right now.

Using her Bluetooth, Annie commanded her phone to dial. She was grateful for technology that allowed her to talk on the phone and still be able to remain fully focused on the road

As the phone rang, she hoped Joan would answer.

On the third ring, she answered.

"Annie?" Joan questioned curiously after seeing her ID on her personal cell phone. Annie had not been the one to first make contact with Joan since she was shot over six months ago. It was always Joan that was calling to check on her.

"Joan. I need help. I'm on Franklin Ave, I've been followed from the university and this guy is trying to run me off the road. I'm trying to head towards a more popular area right now, but just in case I don't make it there, I want someone in pursuit to help me." She said trying to remain calm.

"Annie, who is following you?" Joan asked immediately changing her demeanor from Annie's friend to Annie's former CIA boss.

"I don't know who they are or what their intentions are." Annie said gritting her teeth and gripping the steering wheel as they hit her car again.

"Annie, did they hit your car?" Joan asked as she heard the clash of metal on metal.

"Yes. That was the fourth time." She told her.

"Annie, can you get to Mincer Boulevard? We have an agent there."

"I can try. They are pretty persistent though."

"Joan, I'm not going to make it there." Annie said after a minute or so of silence.

"Why not? What happened?" Joan asked.

"Another car has joined the chase. There are two SUVs trying to run me off the road. I can't hold them both off." Annie said into the Bluetooth.

As suddenly as she said that, she felt the bump of both vehicles colliding with her car.

"Joan, I'm almost at the end of Franklin, I'll turn left at the end of this road. Please send help." Annie said hearing the own desperation in her voice.

"Help is on the way." Joan said as she once again heard the crash of metal against metal.

"Annie, are you okay?" She said after a moment of silence.

"Annie?" She asked again after not getting any response.

But Annie didn't hear Joan calling her name, all she was hearing was the breaking of glass and crunching of metal. Her car was then slammed firmly between a tree and the two SUVs. As quickly as it happened she was completely unconscious to the world around her.

* * *

Auggie was still at work, as usual. It was still early for him to be getting off. Now that Annie didn't live with him and they were seeing each other a little less, he stayed at work a little longer unless they had dinner plans. Now that those plans were cancelled, he would stay later. Auggie wished he could talk to Annie. He knew she was off work now and he wanted to try to fix things between them. He knew she was thinking his insistence that she confirm the identity of her mystery visitors had to do with her disability. But it hadn't at all. He would have given her the same advice if she were still his operative. The difference now was that Annie was a civilian and she wanted to think bad things couldn't happen to her anymore and that all the enemies of her past would simply forget about her.

Lost in thought, he didn't hear Joan enter his office.

"Auggie, what are you still doing here?" She asked, startling him.

"Joan?" He surprised her that he had to question it.

"Why are you here, Auggie?" She repeated.

"Joan, I work here." He said, completely unsure of what she was questioning.

"Auggie, have you talked to Annie?" She asked, confusing him.

"Yeah, I called her at lunch." He said, still not sure where this conversation was coming from or what it pertained to.

"Auggie, Annie was in an accident. There was a high speed chase; two SUVs ran her off the road. I am heading to the hospital now. I thought for sure you already knew."

At this news, Joan saw all the blood drain from his face.

"Take me. Please." He said as he heard her come closer to his desk. He haphazardly shut down his work station and readied his bag to leave. As he grabbed his cane out of the desk drawer he took the arm she offered.

As Joan guided him out of the building he was completely on autopilot. He wasn't aware of anything except for her guiding arm. He was glad he could trust her. Not having to think about where he was going helped him process what was happening. He had so many questions swirling in his head, but he couldn't find the words to form any of them to Joan coherently.

Joan seemed to understand this. She didn't speak again until they were at her car.

"I don't know anything more than I've told you. I was on the phone with her when it happened. I'd already sent an ambulance over to where she was going to be. She called me as it was happening. We were only on the phone for a few minutes before the crash. A second car joined the first in their attempt to run her off the road." Joan told him as they both got into the car.

"Who was it?" Auggie asked, finally finding his voice as he buckled his seatbelt.

"She didn't know." Joan told him. His face was set in a hard emotionless expression. "Why didn't she call you?" Joan asked.

"I don't know, but I will find out. We had had an argument earlier, but that's no reason for her not to call me when something like this happens." Auggie told his boss.

"Why'd you have an argument?" She asked. "If it's not too personal." Joan added.

"She had unexpected visitors in class today, I told her she needed to identify who they were. She didn't take my advice well." He answered reluctantly.

"Do you think it's connected to what happened this evening?"

"Yeah Joan, I do." He said confidently.

"Call Barber, have him look at the University's camera's to make an ID. That's the least we can do."

Auggie did as she suggested and called Barber. He was grateful to Joan for keeping him level headed and giving him something to do.

"Is she going to be okay?" Auggie asked after several minutes of silence.

"I don't know Auggie, I hope so. She's pretty tough." Joan said "We'll be there soon." She informed him.

* * *

Annie was in and out of consciousness for the next thirty minutes. She was aware when the ambulance came and got her, but didn't remember the ride to the hospital at all. Gratefully, they saw her wheelchair and took extra precautions as they put her in the ambulance. She wouldn't be able to tell them if anything was hurt below her waist.

At the hospital she woke a couple times and talked to whomever was standing over her, but she knew she had a pretty bad head injury if she couldn't remain conscious for no longer than she had. She didn't feel any pain right now-not even above her waist. This thought scared her.

She knew they had her strapped to a backboard as a safeguard against her injuring herself further by moving; her head and neck were also restrained so that she couldn't move them, but, to her alarm, her arms and fingers also would not move. She was able to blink and speak, but outside of that, there wasn't a single part of her body that she had control over right now. She was completely terrified and almost welcomed the void of unconsciousness when it came.

* * *

As Joan and Auggie arrived at the hospital, they made quick work of finding where Annie was. It had only been thirty minutes since Joan had lost contact with Annie, but it seemed like an eternity, she could only imagine how anxious Auggie must be feeling. There was no doubt, Annie was important to both of them.

Joan knew they would have to wait for news of her condition. As they walked though the hallway to the emergency room waiting area she thought about how much Annie had been through the last year. Annie had been shot and paralyzed, had major heart surgery, survived a suicide attempt, been through rehabilitation to learn how to live life from a wheelchair, started a relationship, bought a house, and now been in, what Joan guessed was, a serious car accident.

"I'll take you to the waiting room. When we get there, call her sister and let her know we are here. I'll find the cafeteria and get us both a coffee, you look like you need it and I know I do." Joan told Auggie as they approached the hallway to the emergency room waiting area.

Taking his hand off her arm, she placed it on the back of a chair once they arrived in the waiting room. "There's a family of four and a several individuals in the room with you. No one is sitting on the row with you. I won't be gone long." She told him before she left.

As Auggie sat there, his mind raced with possibilities of what was going on with Annie. He wished he knew more about the accident. But it didn't sound good—two cars running another off the road, intentionally. Could she have even survived it? Was that the point? Did the people that ran her off the road want her dead? If so, why? And if she did survive, would they be back to finish the job if they found out she did indeed survive?

Before long, he heard the familiar heels of Joan. She tapped a cup to the back of his hand and he accepted it gratefully.

"Any news?" She asked sitting down next to him.

"No. The family of four left a few minutes ago and someone else came in just before you did." Auggie replied, not turning his head towards her.

"Auggie, she'll be okay. You know that, right." Joan said in a tone Auggie rarely heard from his hard-ass CIA boss.

"I hope she's okay. But, no Joan, I don't know that she will be. I'm scared as shit right now. Joan, there were two cars that ran her off the road or crashed into her or something. Not to mention, she sustained a spine injury just six months ago. Obviously they meant her harm. What if they intended her dead? Joan, Annie is the best tactic driver I've ever been in the car with. If she couldn't out run them and evade them, they had to be damned good." Auggie told her wishing he didn't sound so doubtful, but the situation seemed very bleak.

"Auggie Anderson, don't start doubting our girl. She's been through a lot, yes, that's true, but that doesn't change who she is. She's a fighter." Joan said sternly, placing a comforting hand on his arm.

"I know you're right. I just hate the last time we talked we had argued. It's all I can think about. She didn't even tell me good-bye. She was so mad at me. What if I never get to hear her say it again?" Auggie asked.

"You will." Joan said without hesitation.

For the next twenty minutes they sat in compatible silence drinking their coffees, as they waited to hear about Annie. During that time, many more people came, while only a couple left. By the time someone finally came about Annie, the room was significantly busier than it had been when they had entered.

"Anyone here for Annie Walker?" A mid-aged nurse called into the room.

"We are." Auggie said. "How is she?" He asked, immediately anxious.

"Let me take you somewhere more private to discuss this." The nurse said as they both stood.

Offering Auggie her arm, Joan followed the nurse to a small office.

"The doctor will be right in to let you know about your friend." The nurse told them before she left.

Auggie sighed. Now there would be more waiting. His leg bounced up and down nervously as his anxiety outwardly displayed itself in a way Joan had rarely seen before.

 **Author's Note: So what do you think? Interested in where this is going or would you like me to change direction?**


	5. Unmoving

**Author's note: I hope you guys are still with me. I'll be honest, this is not where I thought this story was going when I started, but here it is. I hadn't planned on harming Annie this sequel, really I didn't! But it just came out as this. I don't know where it's going either. I've got a lot of writing projects going right now, so if you're particularly passionate about one of my stories and really want it updated, well, let me know! Reviews welcome, even encouraged.**

Chapter 5

"Unmoving"

Annie rested in the bed, unmoving, going in and out of consciousness for hours. She was completely unaware of what was going on around her. She didn't feel her blood pressure being taken, the blood being drawn from her veins, or the pin pricks testing her reactions. There were no reactions to be felt. She turned inside herself. Trying to will this nightmare to end. She had gotten used to being in a wheelchair, not ever walking again, to living life with part of her body being unable to move, but this was different. She wasn't sure when it happened, but at some point a breathing tube was put in and she had been sedated. Now she was left with only her thoughts. She was aware of nothing. There were no feelings, images, sounds, or emotions. There was simply nothing to be aware of as her subconscious mind tried desperately to make sense of what was happening to her.

* * *

Joan didn't know how to console Auggie as they heard the news. He didn't question anything. He simply listened to the doctor explain Annie's condition. She was currently sedated as they waited to see how the situation progressed. Joan asked questions about whether it might be temporary or permanent and was disappointed when the doctor replied with basically a "We will have to wait and see." Joan watched Auggie carefully as his jaw became tenser as he heard the doctor explain further about what they were doing for Annie.

* * *

When the doctor finally came in after another twenty minute wait, after they'd been brought to the "private room" from the waiting room, the news he gave was anything, but good.

"Annie is currently in critical condition suffering from a C4 spinal injury. She has no control of her body from the neck down. We currently have her neck in a brace as well. She was able to blink on command earlier, but we don't know if this function will hold or not. She was in and out of consciousness when she first came in, but she doesn't seem to know what's happened. When she spoke it was mostly in gibberish. We're not sure if she thought she was speaking real words or if they were gibberish to her as well. We've sedated her and put her on a ventilator to help ease the work she has to put into breathing. We understand she was a paraplegic before this accident. How long has it been since her first injury?" The doctor started.

"About eight months." Joan said.

"So she's still new to using hand controls, could that have played a factor in her accident?" The doctor asked.

"No. She was ran off the road. Annie is an excellent driver." Joan said in Annie's defense.

"Just making sure I have all the facts, ma'am." The doctor said. "We've taken care of her immediate needs, cleaned and bandaged all her wounds, put a catheter in, and made sure she is as comfortable as possible."

"What's the prognosis? Is this permanent or just temporary?" Joan asked seeing that Auggie wasn't going to ask himself. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and hands under his chin.

"We won't know that until we're able to do more tests. Right now the inflammation around her spine is preventing us from seeing things clearly when we take images. It's wait and see right now." He answered.

"Can we post a guard at her door in case the men that were chasing her come back for her?" Joan asked. She'd already spoke to the police during the first hour while they'd waited to be told about Annie.

"Of course. We will monitor her condition the next few days; she's not out of the woods yet. She had quite a head injury, a few broken bones, and of course the spine injury, any of which could lead to major complications if left unobserved." The doctor told them.

"Thank you doctor." Joan said as the doctor started to get up from where he sat across from them.

"Can I see her?" Auggie asked suddenly, not realizing the doctor was almost out the door.

"Only for a few minutes, she's in the ICU, but I'll have a nurse come take you." He told Auggie. "But remember, she won't be able to feel you and we're not sure if she can hear you or not. She's pretty beat up, she won't look like herself."

"Oh, that's okay, what she looks like has never mattered to me." Auggie said grimly, holding up his cane that had been beside him.

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry, I didn't realize. Just be careful where you touch. We have equipment breathing for her, helping to keep blood clots from forming by stimulating her muscles to keep blood flow going, and monitoring her heart, temperature, and blood pressure. The nurse can help guide you around everything if that's okay with you."

"Thank you doctor." Auggie said as he stood, letting his cane fall in front of him and tapping it on the ground to lock the pieces into place.

Entering Annie's room felt like entering a pharmacy. Auggie was assaulted by the antiseptic odor typical of these places. The nurse that guided him into the room led him to a chair next to Annie's bed and placed his hand into Annie's hand. Her hand felt cold and foreign to him immediately. He almost wanted to ask if she was sure he was in the right room, but he trusted that he was.

"I'll come back and check on you soon. Try not to stay too long." The nurse told him.

"Thank you nurse." Auggie said.

Auggie held her hand and sobbed for a few minutes.

"I'm so sorry Annie. I'm sorry we fought. I'm sorry I made you feel uncomfortable and that I didn't trust your judgment. I should have tried to call you before you left work. I was so angry with you for not letting me help you-for you not taking my advice. Oh Annie, why couldn't you have just listened to me? I should have done more to protect you. I knew the risks and should have listened to my gut. I'm so sorry." He didn't know if she could hear him or even if she cared about the words he said. He just needed them to be said. He'd tell her again and again if she made it out of this. "I love you Annie. Come back to me. Don't you dare leave me like this." He sobbed into her hand.

He continued sitting next to her for as long as the nurses would let him. He would have stayed there all night if they would have just allowed him. When they told him that visiting hours were over for the evening, he didn't leave the hospital. Much to Joan's disapproval he insisted on staying there. He went to the waiting room to bunk for the night, making a make shift bed among the chairs. He thought back to the last time he had done the exact same thing-as he'd waited for Annie to come out of quarantine when she had been exposed to polonium. At the time, she had been trying to help a Chinese scientist defect from his country and had been poisoned alongside him.

He told the nurses he would be there if there was any change in Annie's condition. He wanted to be there the moment anything happened to her. He didn't want to have to wait for a phone call, then wait for a ride, then agonize during the car ride before he could arrive by her side if something happened. He wanted to be there already. He needed to be as near to her as they would let him be.

Every few hours Auggie was allowed to go sit by her again. There had been no change in her condition. Not for the better, but also not for the worse. Around 2am the next morning, a nurse came to tell him that Annie had slipped into a coma. Auggie hoped this would help give her body time to heal. He desperately wanted to think positively about the situation, but he knew the fact of the matter was, Annie might not wake up.


	6. Somewhere Between Here and There

**Author's Note: Disclaimer- I do not own Covert Affairs or its characters.**

Chapter 6

"Somewhere Between Here and There"

Days passed and Annie remained in a coma. Auggie worried the longer she remained unconscious the further away her attackers would get. They had very little information about them. Facial recognition didn't bring them up in any data base that they used and they didn't have any other evidence to help them find out who they were and what they wanted.

A guard remained assigned to Annie's room at all times. No one that wasn't approved by Joan herself was allowed to see her. Despite the fact that Annie was in the Intensive Care Unit, the doctor made an exception and allowed Auggie to stay with her regardless of visitor hours. Auggie was extremely grateful to the doctors for letting him do this. They provided him with a cot in the corner of the room and helped him with anything he needed.

Of course the nurses were taken by him. They were keen on knowing more about him and thought his dedication to Annie was endearing. Auggie had only left the hospital once since Annie had been admitted. Joan had insisted he go and get at least one night's sleep at home. He'd done so, but was back at the hospital at 6:30 the next morning, ready to stay for as long as Annie was there. He told Joan he wouldn't be going back to work until there was significant improvement in Annie's condition. She didn't argue with him, she knew once he had his mind set to something, it was unlikely it would be changed.

Annie's condition remained unchanging for the better part of the first week she was in the hospital. On the sixth day, the doctors said there was more brain activity than there had been the previous days. The doctors told Auggie that this could be a sign she was improving or it could be a sign of nothing. As he had been told each of the previous days, they would have to wait and see.

Over the next two days, Annie improved even more. The doctors said this continued improvement was a sign that she would be waking soon, but how soon they couldn't be sure. On the third day, Auggie began to worry about how he could possibly know if she were awake or not. The doctor had stated that Annie was paralyzed from the neck down, which meant she couldn't move any part of her body basically and, being blind, he couldn't see her eyes open. To make matters worse, a machine was currently breathing for her, so speaking was also out of the question. He had to hope that she would find a way to get his attention if she woke up. He remained in constant contact with her, trying to sense the smallest change in her body.

Later that night, Auggie felt a slightly change in Annie's pulse as he held her hand in his. At first he thought he had imagined it, until her pulse continued to grow steadier.

He stood up next to her bed and placed his hand near her face, just close enough that he would feel her move, but not close enough that he might accidently tangle in any of the tubes that came from her body.

"Annie, I don't know if you're awake or if I'm imagining things, but I'm here, I won't leave you," Auggie said as he placed his hand on the top of her head. "You're in the hospital."

* * *

Hearing Auggie's voice had always been a comfort for Annie. From the moment she had met him, she'd found his voice to be a reassuring constant in her ear when she was on missions. Now was certainly no exception to that. As she became aware of herself, she didn't remember immediately where she was, what had happened, or what the resulting consequences were.

As she listened to Auggie talk now she was instantly soothed to know he was there.

"You're in the hospital. There was an accident and you were hurt pretty bad. You've been in a coma for most of the week. Don't try to talk, the doctors have you on a breathing machine right now. It's been helping you breathe. A nurse or doctor should come soon. I don't want to leave you alone," she heard him say as he stroked her forehead gently. She desperately wanted to let him know that she heard him. That she saw him. That she was aware of him being there.

It scared her that she still couldn't move. Her mind was fuzzy on the details of the accident and of coming to the hospital. But she distinctly remembered the intense fear she had felt when she realized she couldn't move. Hearing the doctors and nurses talk about this as she'd went in and out of consciousness. Now the fear and realization that she still couldn't move was overwhelming for her. Moving the only thing she could, she slowly moved her head to the side slightly so that Auggie's hand stopped moving.

"Oh Annie!" he began. "You are awake, aren't you?" his face held a genuine smile that brought joy to her heart. She moved her head in his hand again. This time blinking her eyes once, hoping he might feel the movement and he know she meant to say "yes, I'm awake".

Annie remembered being aware of Auggie's presence before now, but she wasn't completely sure what that was, whether it was a dream, feeling herself come out of the coma, or something else altogether. She knew she'd wanted to come back to him though. She had wanted to fight whatever void that she had been in to get back to him.

Now that she was back to a state of consciousness, she wondered if it was worth the fight it had taken to get here, if living this way even with Auggie was something she wanted. She wondered if dying would be a better option, even if it meant not being with Auggie. Just as the thoughts came to her mind, she regretted them, as they were impossible to take back.

"Annie, you don't have to stay awake sweetie. I know you're tired. Don't fight the need to sleep if it comes. I'll still be here," Auggie whispered into her ear. He was leaning onto the bed, she knew he was, but she couldn't actually feel his body against hers. It unnerved her to think only her head could actually perceive him right now. She could only see and hear him, there was no touch for her now. No ability to reach out and touch his face or hold his hand. At the moment there wasn't even the ability to taste his soft lips against hers. She could only stare into his unseeing eyes and hope this nightmare might end sooner than it had begun.

* * *

As the day went on, the doctors confirmed that Annie was out of the coma, but still paralyzed. Auggie was disoriented by all the people coming and going and the flurry of tests and procedures they performed on Annie. He could only imagine how confusing it was for Annie. Finally, in the afternoon, they decided to take Annie off the breathing machine to see if she could breathe on her own. They kept an oxygen mask over her face, but to everyone's relief, but mostly Annie's, she was able to breathe without difficulty on her own.

It was a weird sensation for her, she knew she was breathing, but she could not feel herself taking breaths. She knew her chest was rising and falling as it was supposed to, but the actual feeling of it was lost on her. According to the doctors it was a very good thing that she was able to breath on her own.

"Is this permanent?" She asked hoarsely after the doctor's evening assessment of her condition.

"Ms. Walker, we really don't know. Right now we are waiting for swelling to go down around the spinal cord injury. You've suffered a significant head injury as well. I know laying here flat on your back unable to move anything is not ideal, but we need your patience. We'll give you something to help you sleep later tonight. We have to keep you as flat as possible for now, but if you'd like we can at least put you in a standing upright position for a few hours. It will mean you'll be strapped to the bed to keep you in place, but you'll have a different view of the room without putting any strain on your spine. We can also try some bland soft foods if you think you could try to eat that. We can have a nurse help with feeding you," the doctor told Annie.

Auggie listened in and instantly regretted that he would not be able to help Annie with eating. A stranger would have to come help her. His blindness simply wouldn't allow him to be of any assistance to her. All he could do was sit next to her and hold her hand-a hand she couldn't even feel being held. He was highly discouraged by what was happening and how helpless it made him feel to be any help to her at all. He hoped simply being there for her was enough—it was all he could offer.

To compensate for not being able to be as helpful as he wanted to be, he frequently talked with her about anything, everything, and nothing at all. Telling her stories about his childhood and tales from his days as a rookie operative. She didn't speak often, but he knew she was listening. He kept one of his hands in hers and the other on her head as he leaned forward on the bed.

Days seemed to drag on for the couple as there was little for them to do. Annie started talking more as time passed, but she was not nearly as animated or enthusiastic as she had once been. Auggie knew it would take her time to come into this new form of herself. He hoped he could continue to help coax her out. A week and a half after waking from the coma, Annie was moved from the intensive care unit into a regular room. Here she was allowed to have other visitors who could stay longer than just a few minutes. Danielle, her nieces, Barber, and Joan became frequent visitors. Annie grew tired easily and her mood was expectedly short at times.

Annie felt completely helpless as more and more time passed by without any improvement in her condition. She had hoped her condition would just be temporary or that there would be any sign of improvement, but to date, all tests came back negative or inconclusive.

* * *

Finally, a sliver of hope appeared three weeks after the accident. A doctor had been performing his usual tests when Annie's reflexes showed the first signs of response and Annie expressed a sign that she actually felt a pinprick in her left hand. Annie was delighted to finally get a sign that something might be changing, that improvements might be made that allowed her to not be in a ridged back brace, stiff neck restraint, and flat position 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

* * *

Auggie wanted to be realistic about Annie's condition, but he couldn't burst her bubble as she told Auggie about what had happened while he had went to grab something to eat. Normally he had stayed with Annie while the doctor did his usual tests, but this time he had just needed to step away for a few minutes. He told himself to make sure he personally spoke to the doctor as soon as an opportunity presented itself for him to.

Over the last three weeks, Auggie had very rarely left Annie's side. She slept most of the day, but she always let him know when she was awake by speaking to him. To pass the time, they would watch, or listen to in Auggie's case, things on TV, or Auggie would read to her from one of his many Brailled books.

Annie loved Auggie for staying with her, but she hated that he had to. Worse of all, she hated how she had treated him that day of the accident. She had been so quick to dismiss his concerns for her. She had automatically assumed he was only as concerned as he was because of her disability. Now she knew that he had always had this level of concern for her. She knew better than to make these assumptions. She had been working with Auggie long enough to know him and she regretted now that she had automatically jumped to negative conclusions about his intentions. Every time she would bring the fight up, Auggie would kiss her forehead and say "it's okay sweetheart, it's in the past."

* * *

The opportunity finally came for Auggie to speak with Annie's doctor later that day while she was sleeping.

"Doc, Annie told me that she had a reaction to a pinprick for the first time today? What does that mean for her condition exactly?" Auggie asked as the two men stood outside of Annie's room in the hallway.

"Mr. Anderson, it could mean a number of things. All we know for sure is there is some sensation returning to that finger that I pricked. I don't know anything else for sure. She can't voluntarily move the finger, but she did feel pain from it. I can't speculate anything until we see more improvement. It would be ideal for her to regain mobility I know. I've seen many patients come and go with similar conditions to Annie's and I can tell you the results are as varying as the patients I saw. There are never two cases that are exactly alike. There isn't some magic equation we can fill in data to and it give us answers. I wish there was more I could tell you," the doctor told Auggie.

"I understand what you mean, doctor. I was told something similar when the doctor's weren't sure if my sight would return or not. Please keep me updated on any changes," Auggie said turning back toward the door to Annie's room.

"Mr. Anderson. One more thing," the doctor began as Auggie turned to face the man.

"No matter what, Annie's condition will require her to spend some time in a rehab facility much like she did last year. Do you think she can handle that? I know about what happened last time," he said.

"Yes doctor, Annie would be able to handle it. With the lack of movement she's had for the last three weeks, I assumed as much. She will have to go through the same process again. When will she be transferred there? Will it be the same one she was at?" Auggie inquired.

"Yes, the facility knows her and will be updated on her current condition when she heads there. We are looking at her leaving her in the next two or three weeks. It will depend on her emotional stability. We won't let her leave her if she's extremely depressed."

"Thank you doctor," Auggie said turning once again and walking into Annie's room as he heard the doctor's footsteps retreating.

"You're back!" Annie said as soon as he stepped foot into the room.

Auggie smiled as he made his way back over to the bed. Having been with Annie the entire time she had been at the hospital, he didn't need his cane to orient himself in her room.

"Good afternoon, Walker. Sleep well?" he said as he reached the chair he'd taken up residence in the last few weeks.

"As well as one can while they're in the hospital I suppose. Where were you?" she asked. She could count on one time the number of times she woke up and he wasn't there.

"The doctor came in earlier and was checking in on you, you fell asleep right as he was leaving, so I went to talk to him. I didn't expect you to be awake so quickly or I would not have left." Auggie said, taking her hand. He knew she couldn't feel her hand in his, but she knew he was there with her.

"What did he say?" she asked anxiously, viewing him from the same position she had been seeing him from for days.

Auggie hesitated for a few moments considering the options of how to approach the topic. He didn't want to give her false hope that things might improve if in fact they would not.

"Nothing we didn't already suspect, I think. The sensation you're experiencing could mean any number of things and he doesn't want you to get your hopes up just yet. We really don't know how much, if any more sensation you will get back. It's a wait and see process that could have a multitude of possible outcomes. He did mentioned that you'll be going back to the Virginia Commonwealth University Rehabilitation Center in Richmond in a few weeks," he told her. He didn't plan on keep things from her, as hard as it was to hear the sigh of disappointment that escaped her lips.


	7. Furious Fever

**Author's note: Greetings friends! I'm back and I'm writing again! It's been a while since I wrote anything with my fanfiction, but I hope it works for everyone. This story is taking turns and twists that I didn't see coming when I started it. I really don't know what is coming next yet. Reviews are always welcome.**

Chapter Seven

"Furious Fever"

The next day, Annie did not wake at her usual time. She slept through the nurse checking her vitals several times and missed Auggie's breakfast tray being brought in. She was not currently being given solid foods herself, but she usually woke when the smells of various foods entered the room.

Auggie was worried, but assumed the nurse would tell him if there was anything to be concerned about. Thinking extra sleep couldn't be a bad thing, he let her sleep for a while longer, but when he tried to wake her several times and had no luck, his anxiety grew. As lunch time approached, he told himself he would ask the nurse to help him wake Annie the next time she arrived.

Placing his hand on her forehead, Auggie was immediately concerned as Annie felt warmer than normal under his sensitive touch.

Finding the call button, he called for the nurse. Seeing at it was the first time the button had been used from Annie's room, he hoped they would realize it was something important and come quickly.

As the seconds ticked on to minutes and the minutes dragged on, Auggie's leg began to shake with anxiety. He was worried about Annie. It felt to him like Annie had a fever.

Finally, twenty minutes after they were called, a nurse finally made her way into Annie's room.

"You called?" the chipper nurse asked as she entered the room.

"Yes I did. What took so long?" Auggie asked, not even trying to hide his annoyance.

"She isn't the only patient on the floor," the nurse answered. "Why did you call?"

"I think she has a fever and she hasn't woke up yet today," Auggie replied, gently rubbing Annie's hand, even though he knew she couldn't feel him doing so.

The nurse pulled Annie's chart from its spot on the wall and began the process of taking Annie's vitals.

"It looks like her temperature has been steadily climbing all day. It's up to 104 now. We need to get her in an ice bath immediately. As to why this hasn't been addressed before now, I'm not sure," the nurse told Auggie immediately taking actions to help get Annie's temperature down.

Auggie stood helpless as the nurse pressed the emergency call button. Swarms of people came into the room then, pushing him to the side. After mere minutes, he was alone in the room, not entirely sure where Annie had been taken or what was going on that caused her fever to be so high.

What seemed like hours later, Auggie sat hunched over on the chair next to Annie's now empty bed. A nurse entered the room.

"Sir, do you need anything?" she asked softly.

"Yes, in fact, I need an update on what happened to my girlfriend," Auggie said, his lips in a hard line.

"I don't know much. They are still working on getting the temperature down right now. We suspect some kind of infection is to blame, but we won't know for sure until her blood work comes back," the nurse put her hand on Auggie's shoulder.

"Can I get you anything to eat, call anyone for you, anything?" she asked kindly.

"No. I'm fine. I just need Annie back," he said leaning back in the chair. "Has she been awake?"

The nurse shook her head, and then answered verbally after a moment. "No, sorry, I shook my head before. She hasn't been awake yet. The doctors aren't sure if it's an infection or virus that caused her sudden fever."

"When will she be back here?" Auggie asked wearily.

"I don't think she will be until that fever comes down and stays down. She'll be sent back to the intensive care unit when she's sent back to a room. Right now she's in an ice bath.

Auggie waited hours to hear from about what was happening with Annie. The nurses kept checking on him in the waiting room, but they never had news for him. He'd moved to the waiting room when the nurse had told him that Annie wouldn't be coming back to the same room she had been in. Finally, at 6:30pm, someone had news for him.

"Auggie Anderson?" an unfamiliar voice called into the waiting room.

He immediately unfolded his cane and made his way to door where the voice had spoken from. "That's me. How is she? Can I see her now?" he asked anxiously.

"Sir, Annie's doctor has news for you. Come with me please," she said as she offered him sighted guide.

They walked through unfamiliar territory for Auggie, so he was grateful for the nurse, whose name he found out was Meredith, was willing to guide him.

"We are going to the third floor, the doctor is a neurologist they brought in specifically for Annie's case," Meredith told him as they entered the elevator.

"Thank you," Auggie told her still holding her arm, trusting that she could guide him.

Numerous possibilities of what might be going on inside Annie's body swirled in Auggie's head. He refused to question whether she might be dead or alive right now. There was no question for him that she was indeed alive. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that if she were not, he would know it immediately. He still sensed the warm fuzzy aura that she let off. It was faint, but he knew it would be stronger when he was nearer to her. He told himself that this was absolute fact. They had a connection stronger than what most people had. He knew that just as he'd known when he'd almost lost her after the Lena shooting, that he would know now as well.

This gave him a slight sense of peace, knowing she was still with him, even in the state she was in, she was still there. She was still his Annie.

"If you will wait here, the doctor shouldn't be too much longer. There is a chair to your left." Meredith told him after they entered a small office.

"Thank you," Auggie told her again.

Finding his seat, he prepared to wait for the doctor. He folded his cane and placed it predominantly in his lap. There had been a time when he hated the assistive device, but now, he knew it was there for his safety and the safety of those around him. It also made moments of introductions less awkward if people knew immediately of his vision problem. They didn't have to know of it total blindness, but knowing he needed it was enough. What assumptions people made about him because of it, were just that-their assumptions. They didn't have to effect Auggie.

Fifteen minutes later, Auggie heard the door behind him open. The doctor finally made his appearance, apologizing profusely for taking so long.

"Mr. Anderson?" a voice asked.

"That's me. How's Annie?" Auggie said getting to the point.

"I'll be honest with you Mr. Anderson," the doctor began, "it's not looking good. Annie has slipped back into a coma. We were able to get the fever down, but we suspect possible brain damage. Of course we can't know the extent of the damage or the effects of it until Annie wakes up. Annie has been through a lot with the shooting, coping with paralysis, rehab, then a car accident resulting in an even higher level of paralysis than she had already learned to accept, and now an infection causing another coma and potential major complications. I can't give you any idea of a prognosis right now. We will be taking regular images to check for any changes and keeping constant observations on brain functions as well."

"I understand. Can I sit with her? Is there any chance she could- I mean, will she-" Auggie started to ask. But he couldn't finish the sentence. He couldn't bring himself to ask. He couldn't imagine the world without Annie. He knew it was selfish. He knew how much she was suffering. How much she struggled every day and how much more complicated everything was now for her. But he wanted her by his side.

"I can't say for sure, Mr. Anderson, I don't know the future for certain, but with what I know right now, I would say Annie will be in for an extremely long recovery, but will live a nice long life." The doctor told Auggie.

Auggie exhaled, releasing the breath he didn't realize he was holding. "So, she will be okay? Will the paralysis improve?" Auggie asked, knowing Annie's unspoken fears about the severity of the paralysis after the accident. He knew how terrified she was of living life dependent on others. Spending her life in a wheelchair had already been a hard pill for her to shallow before the car accident, now he could only imagine that her head had been spinning in fear at the thought of having to depend on others because there was nothing she could do for herself.

"Mr. Anderson, you know I can't answer that for you. We still aren't one hundred percent sure what caused it. Of course we don't want to see any patients leave here as a quadriplegic, but we do the best we can for our patients and send them off with our well wishes. I'm sure you understand that there are limitations to what today's medicine can fix," the doctor told Auggie, alluding to his blindness.

"Yes, I understand. I understand completely. Is Annie back in her own room now?" He asked, not wanting to talk about himself.

"Yes. She's in the intensive care unit now, I can have Meredith take you there," the doctor told him, standing up and walking around his desk.

"Thank you doctor." Auggie told him, standing and putting his hand out to shake the man's hand. Holding his cane in his left hand, he stood awkwardly until the other man's hand grasped his. "Please keep me updated on Annie's condition. I need you do to that for me. I need someone to make sure I'm kept in the loop here." Auggie told him knowing he was showing a vulnerability that he rarely showed. It was often difficult for Auggie to make connections with people when he couldn't see them. So much of communication was nonverbal and he missed it all. He only had the verbal to go off of and often times, that simply wasn't enough. Right now, he needed someone to make sure he was kept in the loop that was all things Annie. He could only hope that this doctor could do that for him. That he would make sure Auggie was told things, informed of visuals, and kept in the loop of vague niceties.


	8. Fate's Consequences

**Author's Note: Greetings everyone, here's the latest chapter. It may contain errors. Please understand, writing for me right now is a stress reliever, but I don't have as much time to edit as I would like. Either way, I hope that you enjoy the next leg of our journey. If you see glaring mistakes and tell me about them, I'll try to change them.**

Chapter 8

"Fate's Consequences"

Auggie followed their routine to a tee. With their once monthly trip out with their friends complete and they were waiting for their ride to arrive. The trip, as always, was exhausting for everyone involved, but he and Annie had agreed that they couldn't sit at home all the time. As their ride arrived at their apartment, Auggie waited patiently as the driver lowered the mechanical ramp that would allow Annie out of the vehicle.

Annie had many medical needs now, so Danielle visited frequently and a nurse was there daily to take care of anything for Annie that Auggie couldn't do himself. The last six months since Annie had come home had both flown by and dragged at a snail's pace for the couple.

Auggie's apartment had been outfitted with ramps long ago after Annie had been shot, but now a hospital bed was set up in what had been his living room. Their home was also full of medical equipment that kept Annie comfortable. Normal was a relative term now. Their life had changed drastically, but given the alternative, they accepted what they were given. Annie still had her voice-well, she had a voice. It wasn't her old voice. But they could communicate. Most of their conversations consisted of Auggie telling Annie about his day or Annie slowly recounting for Auggie about how her day had went, which was considerably less exciting then it had once been.

Auggie's days consisted of his continued work for the CIA: half at the office and half at home. Joan had been more than accommodating and empathetic towards their circumstances. Their home had all the latest security technology and Auggie's computers were all outfitted with the best firewall and anti-virus software that the CIA could come up with-some of which Auggie had created himself. If he needed to, he had coworkers come to the apartment for consults, but this occurred quite infrequently.

Annie's days consisted of mind numbing therapy sessions, tortoise-like routines to complete the simplest of activities, and hours of sitting around watching the world go on around her. She wasn't bitter however, just the opposite. She was happy to be alive. It had been touch and go for a while and she was simply happy that she was allowed to still experience life with Auggie every day.

Now the whirls of Annie's electric wheelchair were the only sound around them as they slowly walked their usual path to Auggie's apartment-now shared with Annie. It had taken some work, but Auggie had convinced his complex to put an elevator in so that he wouldn't have to move. Auggie walked behind Annie's wheelchair that she was finally able to control on her own. It had taken her a couple months to be able to control her hands enough to use them for the job, but it made their life easier now.

Annie never grumbled. There was nothing she could do for herself, but she never complained. Breathing was even difficult for her now, but she didn't have to use the oxygen full time anymore. She had laid in bed in a coma for so long that her lungs had become too weak to support breathing for her now completely paralyzed body. As a former CIA agent, Annie had the best equipment money could buy. Both Joan and Auggie had made sure of it.

They had a routine, Auggie was home at the same time every day without exception. It had been an agreement between him and Joan when he had gone back to work a few months ago. He made Joan promise to never keep him at work late. If Danielle wasn't there, then a nurse would be. But Annie was never left alone for long.

He valued his time with Annie now more than ever and while they both recognized the need for him to work, out of emotional necessity, not financial, neither of them wanted to be apart any more than they had to be. Auggie knew that he had almost lost her. In truth, he had lost her for months. Of course, she had been there, but his Annie had not been there. There had been no true life within her. Her body was there, but the coma that had kept her from him. Now he did everything he could to make sure Annie knew that he was there for her, no matter what.

Annie depended on others to help her with everything; from getting out of bed, to feeding herself, brushing her teeth, and showering. However, nothing stopped her from being there for Auggie. Every night they discussed his work and Auggie bounced ideas off Annie about cases. Their conversations were slower now because Annie's speech was more labored and forced than it had been, but her ideas and mind was still as sharp as ever. Auggie was patient with her and waited for her to get thoughts out. Her ideas were excellent and showed the years of experience that no book or manual could convey. She always knew just how Auggie could work one angle or another or what to say to whichever agent he was working with at the time.

Joan didn't protest Auggie speaking to Annie about active cases. In fact, she approved of it, secretly of course. Technically, Annie was no longer part of the CIA and shouldn't be privileged to case information anymore. But she never shared that she knew they did. Her only fear was that Annie might be kidnapped for the information, but she kept this feat to herself.

She was still Annie, but not Annie at all at the same time. She couldn't physically do any of the things she had once done. But mentally, linguistically, and emotionally she was still the hard ass field agent that Auggie had fallen in love with from almost the moment he'd met her. She went at every therapy session, challenge daily task, and medical procedure with the same grit and determination as she had terrorists, gun runners, and drug dealers.

They still did everything together. It was the same, but different. Everything was slower for them now. But there were grateful to have each other. Annie was amazed that Auggie would stand by her in her state of being. She never felt inadequate to be loved by him, but it still amazed her that he would suffer through all of the changes her disability brought for him. Of course, his own disability added to their challenges. And yet, they made it work.

Auggie followed his usual ritual and stayed by Annie's bed until she fell asleep. Holding her left hand, which had more feeling and control than the right, he waited until her slight movements stilled, conversation ceased, and breathing evened out before he made his way through their apartment to his own room. In times like this, he could almost imagine things were as they had been. Before her accident. Being blind, he was able to imagine things as he wanted instead of having to see them. In the stillness of night, just holding Annie's hand, he could also pretend she was just getting home from a mission. If not for the hiss of the oxygen machine that helped Annie breathe and the hard mattress she slept on instead of their old bed, he might be able to keep the image.

Tonight, however was different. Tonight she did not still. Her hand kept squeezing his. She had the ability to squeeze his hand he knew, however, not usually with such force. Auggie was both concerned and enthused with this distinct variation in her abilities.

* * *

As he lifted his head from his arm it had rested on, he suddenly realized that he was no in his apartment. As the sleep lifted from his mind he heard the rhythmic beeping and whirls of very different machines than he had just heard. Immediately he realized three things: One: he was at the hospital not his apartment, two: he had been dreaming, and three Annie was squeezing his hand-which she had not been able to do since she had woke from the coma weeks ago.

Annie looked around the room. Her eyes were open, but she only had the ability to leave them open for a few minutes at a time. She knew instantly that she was in the hospital. But what she didn't know was why. Something inhibited her ability to speak or even breathe. A breathing tube she assumed. She understood that her condition must have been serious for that reason.

She saw Auggie next to her. His hand in hers. He was sleeping hunched over with his head resting on his arm. It didn't look comfortable, but was certainly not the most uncomfortable looking position she had seen him in waiting for her at a hospital. She thought about the time she had been quarantined and found him sprawled out on the lobby chairs, flat on his back. He never complained about the circumstances he found himself in because of her.

She stared at the ceiling above her. Aware that whatever had happened was quite serious, she wished Auggie would wake up and somehow notice she was awake. Gently, she squeezed his hand. She immediately noticed that the action of moving her hand was almost painful. Well, not painful in the traditional sense, but tingly or numb, like they'd fallen asleep some time ago.

As she lay there, staring at the blank white ceiling above, she begin to feel her eye lids growing heavy. As she held onto Auggie's hand, she hoped that when she woke again that she would learn what had happened and what injuries she had.

The following evening, when Annie woke up, she was rewarded with the immediate realization that she was breathing on her own without the assistance of a breathing tube. There was an oxygen mask over her mouth, but that didn't inhibit her in the ways the breathing tube did. She glanced around the room, knowing by what she could see that she was still flat on her back and that something around her neck prevented movement. Auggie was still beside her, hand in hers. She squeezed his hand and was awarded with his signature smile.

"Annie?" he questioned quietly but hopefully. "Don't try to talk sweetheart, they've just taken the breathing tube out a few hours ago. Squeeze my hand if you can hear me," he told her.

She did as he asked and watched as his face lit up in the biggest smile she had ever seen.

"I told the doctors I wasn't imagine it. They told me it was impossible, but I knew it wasn't my imagination. They've seen increased brain activity on your imagery for a few days now, so we were hopeful of you waking soon."

Annie wasn't sure what Auggie was going on about. She was just glad to have him next to her. Her eye lids fluttered closed a couple times, but every time she opened them, he was still there beside her.

A few hours later, she woke again. This time, Auggie's hand was not in hers. It was resting on the bed next to her as he listened to something on his computer.

"Augs" she said hoarsely and moved her hand towards his. Moving her hand was a laborious task and she wasn't sure why. She felt like she was moving in slow motion.

"Annie. Did you just move your arm?" Auggie asked, unable to hide the surprise in his voice, as he found her outstretched hand reaching for him.

"Of course," she said, completely unsure why he would ask such a question. While she may be paralyzed, it was her legs that didn't function. He knew that as well as she did. "What happen?" she asked finally. Understanding now that something had happened to make Auggie believe she couldn't move her arms.

"Annie, you were completely paralyzed the last time you were fully awake," Auggie told her, not sure if she had forgotten momentarily or if there was something serious wrong with her memory.

"Oh," Annie said shocked. "I don't remember that," Annie responded in a stronger voice than before. With each passing moment she seemed to somehow be getting stronger instead of weaker.

"You've been in a coma for weeks" he said seriously. Then added jokingly, "Joan was threatening to make me report back to work if you didn't wake soon." He didn't want to get into all of this right now. She was just waking from a coma. He wanted nothing more than to just be with her, but she deserved to know exactly what had been happening. So he continued, "There was an accident, someone ran you off the road, leaving you a quadriplegic. Then you had a really high fever and went into a coma. Now you're waking up weeks later, able to move, but not remembering what happened." Auggie stated the news.

None of this was making sense to him. People didn't just miraculously heal like that, did they? He needed her doctors to come to give him answers as well as Annie. Of course, they were never around when they needed them. It was the middle of the night, they would have to wait until morning for answers.

"Can I have some water?" Annie asked after a length of silence.

"I'm not sure, honestly," he told her. She must be thirsty and he knew her throat would be dry having just had a breathing tube removed, but he wasn't sure if she were allowed to drink anything yet. "Let me get a nurse," he said getting up from his seat. "I'll be right back."

As she watched him leaving, a thought came to her. She needed to know for herself that things weren't as bad as they had been, even if she didn't remember what Auggie was talking about. She decided to ease her mind. She lifted her arms into the air. It took some effort, but she seemed to have control of them. Slowly, she lifted her head a few inches off the bed, then followed that by lifting her neck and shoulders, taking care to move slowly, since obviously she was wearing a neck brace for some reason. Each movement took much more effort than it ever had before and everything else twice as heavy as she remembered them being, but her upper body was functional.

She was afraid to do much more, but as sudden thought came to her, morbid curiosity got the better of her. The next, and final, of her tests was not successful. She had known even before any of her little experiments had begun that she couldn't feel the bottom half of her body like she could her top half. But the thought had come to her, so she had to at least try. Her legs, however, still remained unmoving.


End file.
